Anti-Islam Video Will Remain On YouTube

Yesterday a judge in California ruled against actress Cindy Lee Garcia's plea that YouTube take down footage from "Innocence of Muslims," the preposterously amateurish, nearly unwatchable hack-job of a film responsible for sparking a firestorm of violence and anti-U.S. protests in the Middle East.

Garcia, who starred in the film, requested that a Los Angeles County judge remove the film because she's received death threats, been fired from her job and been barred from seeing her grandchildren. Garcia said that she was hoodwinked into starring in the "hateful anti-Islamic production" and was originally under the impression she was starring in an adventure film about ancient Egyptians.

"Our laws encourage free speech, especially with matters of public concern. We don't allow people with private interests to trump that," he said. "No matter how we view the content, whether it's reprehensible or mocking, the fact is, it's a subject of wide debate on a topic of interest for people around the world."

According to the Los Angeles Times, Garcia's lawyer, Chris Armenta, argued that this case is "not a First Amendment issue. This is an invasion of privacy issue." Armenta has vowed to push forward until the video is removed.

The film's schlocky 14-minute YouTube trailer — full of fake beards, atrocious acting not worthy of civic theater and special effects on par with those of a high school AV class — sparked a wave of violent protest across Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and later spread to two dozen countries around the world.